Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2)(93)
Jess wanted to push her away, but it was—oddly—Khalila who spoke in that moment, clear and calm as glass. “Archimedes said mathematics reveals its secrets only to those who approach it with pure love for its own beauty. But the Archivist has no love for knowledge. He wants only power. You are the club he swings to get it.”
“Archivists come and go,” the Obscurist said. “The next will be better. You’re no more than children. You can’t possibly understand.”
Jess glared at her. “We aren’t children, and you don’t need Morgan. You have a tower full of your quintessence already.”
“Not like her.” The Obscurist touched Morgan’s cheek, and Morgan jerked away, eyes burning with anger.
Khalila stood up. It was a swift, controlled motion, and although it wasn’t threatening, there was a cold look in her eyes that made the Obscurist’s focus shift.
“You are Scholar Seif, if I am correct.”
“Yes, Obscurist Magnus.”
“I have heard great things of you. And I have a name. Please call me Keria.”
“I would not presume to be so informal. But if you touch Morgan again, if you try to take her away and lock her up, then you’ll have to kill me. I won’t make it easy.”
“Yes,” the Obscurist said. “I can see that. You, Jess? Are you also determined to be foolish?”
“It’s my finest quality,” he said blandly. Her smile had the power of a lightning strike.
“So I see. We’ll settle Morgan’s status later. For now, permit me to offer our help to the young inventor,” she said, moving to Thomas. “Don’t fear, Thomas. We’ll see you are well cared for here.”
“Hypocrite,” Jess said. “You knew where he was the whole time. As Scholar Wolfe said, we’re all just pieces on your game board. You’ll sacrifice any of us to get what you want.”
She had the same severe look as Wolfe, when she wanted to use it. “Do, please, tell me what my plans are, young man. I’m sure it will be very informative.” He could just hear Wolfe saying that, in exactly the same tone, and though Jess didn’t mean to, it made him laugh. Bitterly.
“Oh, leave them alone,” Wolfe said without turning. “I know exactly what your plans are. Mother. And I can promise you, we won’t cooperate in the least.”
There was a breathless silence for a moment, and then the Obscurist walked away, toward the stairs where she’d entered. “Gregory will see to your accommodations,” she said without looking back. “Morgan. Your collar will be replaced. It has to be done, so please don’t injure yourself resisting.”
Morgan stared at the woman’s back as if she wanted to plant a knife in it. Her hand gripped Jess’s again tightly. He was lucky it was the one without a bandage.
Gregory walked over to stand in front of the two of them and said with a calm smile, “Now, let’s be reasonable about this. You can either submit gracefully or submit when you lose the fight, and your friends end up suffering for it. All right?”
He held up his hand, and another Obscurist moved forward to put a wooden box in his palm. When Gregory opened it, Jess saw it held one of the golden collars. He felt Morgan’s bone-deep shiver of revulsion and took in a slow breath. “You don’t have to,” he told her. “Just tell me the word.”
“No,” she whispered. “It won’t do any good, Jess. I don’t want any of you hurt.”
Morgan stood up, closed her eyes, and stayed very still as Gregory clasped the collar around her neck and the symbols on the golden surface shimmered and shifted, and the latch just . . . disappeared.
Morgan sank down again beside him as if all the strength had drained out of her, and he put his arm around her waist. “Easy,” he whispered to her. “I’m right here.”
He turned his head and was suddenly, intensely aware that she was here, next to him, real. Being separated for months hadn’t dulled the impact of her presence on him, or—he thought—of his on her. A burning wave of hot and cold swept over him, and he thought, I can’t let them have her. I can’t. It had been different before, but here, seeing the mute, horrible misery in her eyes and the defeat . . . He understood how much she hated this place, rich and splendid as it seemed to be. He didn’t altogether understand why, but there was no denying it.
Gregory casually poured himself another cup of tea from the pot, sipped, and made a face. “Gone cold,” he said. “Too bad. You know, Morgan, you’d do well to be cautious. Keria Morning is the most powerful woman in the world.”
“I don’t care who she is,” Jess said. “Morgan is coming with us when we leave this place. And we will be leaving.”
Gregory laughed so hard, he slopped tea from the side of his cup. “You, boy, are one to watch. I might watch you end very badly, but at least it will be a good show.” He put the cup aside. “Come on. I’ll show you to your quarters. The good news is that there is plenty of space here, so you each get your own room.”
“What’s the bad news?”
“I wish I could even begin to guess the extent of it.” Gregory sounded dry and uninterested, but Jess couldn’t imagine that the man wasn’t some kind of important personage within the Iron Tower. He did notice that as they stood up, Morgan kept tight hold of Jess’s hand, and moved quickly away from Gregory as soon as the chance presented itself. She doesn’t like him. That’s telling.